Chapter 79: Good Morning, Sir (2)
Coincidentally, Hou Beihua had just finished filming a feature film that he invested in, starred in, and produced. He was in a state of rest and adjustment after finishing a big project. If it were the workaholic Hou Beihua, who could shoot thirteen films a year, even if he wanted to, he probably wouldn't have the time.
Upon hearing Huo Gucheng's invitation, he hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to accept: after all, he had debuted in TBL and made his name on this platform, so TBL TV could be considered his "home".
Even though things were a bit tense when he left back then, now that he's his own boss, he's gradually come to understand the company's difficulties. That's why he's returned to be a guest on variety shows like TVB Anniversary and Miss Hong Kong pageants.
Besides, TBL is truly the dominant television station in Hong Kong, with few rivals. Whether he reconciles or not, TBL is the only major publicity platform in Hong Kong. Whether it's a new movie or a new record, they inevitably have to cooperate with TBL to promote it.
This cameo role in a TVB anniversary drama can be seen as a formal thaw in the situation caused by the past.
They even called Huo Gucheng, their closest friend, to invite him back for a cameo role...
Thinking that he would go back to make a guest appearance in the TV series, firstly, it would improve his relationship with the TV station, and secondly, it would be a good opportunity for the four of them to collaborate as the four kings performing together when it was not a good time for them to compete on the same stage. Hou Beihua went back with indescribable complicated feelings, and then he was immediately staggered by the cruel truth that "good brothers should die together if they are going to die".
"What? We even had rumors back then, how could you be so rude as to film a 'bed scene' with me?!" Knowing that his actions of dragging someone into this mess were truly ruthless, Huo Gucheng immediately started to play the victim, standing with his hands on his hips, looking both unjustified and arrogant. "Am I not youthful, vibrant, and lively enough?"
“But in this drama, you play a character who is lying in a vegetative state on a bed in the intensive care unit, from the first episode to the last episode…” Knowing that it was this kind of “challenging bed scene,” Hou Beihua had a look of bewilderment.
Ignoring Huo Gucheng's indignant shouts of "I will still wake up in the last episode," Hou Beihua glanced at the smiling Shang Hanyou and Ling Chen, who was wearing a corporate suit in the sweltering heat, and then at Li Sishi, who was looking up at him with her head slightly raised. Finally, he sighed and said, "Forget it, just consider it as supporting Leo and Meili."
With the cameo appearances of the three Heavenly Kings resolved and the set construction nearly complete, while Shang Hanyou and the other two were still in the production team...
While they were memorizing their lines, Li Sishi and Ling Chen, along with other main and supporting actors, started filming their own scenes.
The first scene features Li Sishi as the housewife "Yi Sang".
In a scene with Sun Yuan's character, Sun Xinru, who plays Yi Sang's best friend, Sun Xinru brings a batch of new cosmetics and health products to a booth decorated like a tea restaurant.
The two used a few simple lines of dialogue to explain the background: Yi Sang's husband, an actuary who should have had a bright future, was suddenly fired a few months ago and is now working as a math teacher at a Band 3 high school. Seeing that her husband still has to prepare lessons until late every day after class, Yi Sang felt sorry for him, so she secretly asked her best friend to help her find a part-time job where she could try out new cosmetics in exchange for money.
My best friend Sun Xinru has a cousin who works as a research and development professor's assistant at a well-known cosmetics company. He also keeps records of the "guinea pigs'" product usage. So Sun Xinru introduced Yi Sang to him there—because before leaving her family for love, Yi Sang was a rich young lady who had used all the best products.
This part-time job of trying out new cosmetics was the perfect opportunity for Yi Sang to supplement her family's income while slacking off. So Yi Sang did it for several months, and even received bonuses a few times for writing good daily reports after trying the products.
"So tonight is your wedding anniversary. No wonder you've been making the same face ever since you came in." Sun Xinru teased Yi Sang, then added, "My cousin has to work overtime today and can't come. Give me your previous 'Rejuvenating' health product trial report, and I'll bring it to him."
After receiving the trial report from Yi Sang, Sun Xinru pushed the bag she had brought over: "This batch contains new makeup products, including a peach lip balm that you wanted—I got it for my cousin at an insider price. This classic style is so popular! You can't even get it outside even if you pay extra!"
"A lip balm that's been popular since we were in school must have some merit!" Li Sishi said with a smile as she took out the peach lip balm from the bag.
"Yes, yes, yes, knowing that your relationship is as unwavering as this lipstick for seven years, you don't need to flaunt it in front of me, a lonely bachelor..." Sun Xinru waved her hand.
"Who said you're all alone? Your cousin really likes your cousin, doesn't he?" Yi Sang shrugged and sighed, "What a pity, the king has a dream, but the goddess has no heart..."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Sun Xinru feigned anger.
The two exchanged a few jokes before leaving separately.
The outdoor scenes on Yi Sang's way home would be filmed later, so Li Sishi quickly changed into a casual dress for the next indoor scene. With her long hair down, she sat in front of the dressing mirror, putting on makeup while reminiscing about the past.
The mirror reflected a face with extremely beautiful features, but the slightly sickly sallow complexion and fine lines at the corners of the eyes diminished its beauty. It wasn't until the face's owner used cosmetics to erase the traces of time that the face regained its charming and delicate beauty.
Finally, apply peach lip balm, and the sounds of those old memories will resonate along with Yi Sang's reminiscing expression.
This peach lip balm holds a memory of her first kiss with her husband in winter during her student days.
As if hearing her call, the person she missed entered the house with the sound of the door lock turning. Yi Sang hurriedly put down the lip balm in her hand and greeted her husband with a joyful smile: "You're back?"
"Yes, I'm back." The husband, played by Ling Chen, walked in carrying a briefcase, his gaze instinctively falling on the pile of beautifully packaged cosmetics on the sofa. "Went shopping?"
"Yes, today is a very special day, so I need to dress up to welcome you!" Yi Sang walked up naturally and threw herself into her husband's arms, hugging him intimately for a while before lifting her head up from his embrace. "Look, I've been taking a lot of health supplements lately, doesn't my complexion look much better?"
"Don't eat those things indiscriminately." Li Tiansheng frowned slightly. "You look good just the way you are; you don't need makeup."
"Is this what you really think?" Yi Sang tilted her chin up and pouted.
This is probably a dividing line for the audience. Most female viewers would understand that Yi Sang is waiting for a loving kiss from her husband.
However, from the men's perspective, it seemed more like Yi Sang was throwing a tantrum.
Li Tiansheng was undoubtedly a typical straight man, completely oblivious to his wife's request for a kiss. Instead, he was quite worried that his wife would be angry with him for coming home late, so he pinched Yi Sang's chin and softened his tone even more: "Of course it's the truth. My wife is naturally beautiful, and she will always be so beautiful in my heart!"
"You passed! Go and get ready, we're having a candlelight dinner tonight." Yi Sang gave Li Tiansheng a push, then casually took his suit jacket and planned to hang it on the coat rack for him.
Unexpectedly, just as I hung up my suit jacket, the left pocket...
Instead, a small envelope sealed with a red heart sticker fell out.
"We're an old married couple, why are you doing this..." Yi Sang chuckled and muttered under her breath, then put the small envelope back in her pocket, waiting for her husband to give her a "surprise" tonight.
However, under Yi Sangna's expectant gaze, the two finished dinner together, and Li Tiansheng also took a shower, changed into his home clothes, and went to his study to prepare his lessons, but the little red heart-shaped envelope still hadn't reached her hands.
When Li Tiansheng went to the study to subtly inquire, he instead used the excuse that he had recently enrolled many new students and was therefore quite busy preparing lessons until late at night, to tell Yi Sang to go to bed early.
Yi Sang tried to persuade him to no avail, so she had no choice but to pack up their clothes to wash them—and then she smelled a fragrance on the collar of the shirt that didn't belong to her own perfume.
And I saw... half a red lip print inside the shirt collar.
As if by some strange twist of fate, her gaze once again fell upon the suit jacket on the coat rack.
He moved quietly towards the coat rack, took the small envelope out of his suit jacket pocket again, hesitated for a moment, and finally hardened his heart to open the letter.
After quickly skimming through the contents of the letter, in the dim light of the living room, under the close-up lens, the color drained from Yi Sang's face, leaving only her still-moist and lustrous lips, trembling slightly with a heartbreaking ripple.
Covering her lips to force herself not to make a sound, Yi Sang grabbed the letter, turned around, and ran back to her room. Then she picked up the phone on the bedside table and put it down again, showing a very conflicted and confused expression.
She wanted to confide in her best friend about her husband's suspected infidelity, but she was afraid her husband in the study next door would overhear her...
She didn't dare go next door to question her husband about the letter and the red lipstick mark on his shirt collar. So she could only lie on the bed and sob silently for a while before turning her gaze to the mirror on the dressing table.
The camera zoomed in on the reflection in the mirror once again, and the desperate and fearful look in the eyes of the person in the mirror was enough to make anyone's heart tremble.
That look was absolutely amazing—Hou Beihua, who was watching the filming from the sidelines, couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.
He currently has the most collaborations with talented actresses in the film and television industry, and Li Sishi, at only eighteen years old, is able to portray the despairing eyes of a sorrowful young woman in her twenties. Her talent is simply terrifying.
He was initially a little worried when he read the script.
Li Sishi might not be able to portray the earlier scenes as the housewife Yi Sang, so the filming order might need to be changed, and the scenes where she becomes younger might be filmed first.
Unexpectedly, Li Sishi gave everyone a big surprise.
It's as if she truly experienced a blissful marriage filled with endless love, only to discover one day that this fairytale-like marriage was no longer real...
The overwhelmingly real despair and fear are heartbreaking at first glance.
At this moment, Yi Sang in the play is frantically applying cosmetics to her face, and then, with a big, colorful face covered in smears, she grabs a bunch of health pills on the table that are supposed to have beauty benefits and stuffs them into her mouth.
The image will be blurred here, and then it will be the next morning.
After waking up in the morning, the camera switched to Yi Sang's first-person perspective.
Perhaps subconsciously afraid that her husband would see her face covered in tears, Yi Sang slept with her head buried in the pillow at night. Therefore, Li Tiansheng, who did not know when he returned to his room to rest, did not notice her "change".
When Yi Sang woke up, it was already bright outside, and her husband, Li Tiansheng, had already left for work.
Stumbling out of bed, as she took makeup remover to the bathroom to remove her makeup, Yi Sang seemed to vaguely see a patch of white skin amidst the colorful hues in the steamy mirror.
Before long, as the makeup faded, a youthful and beautiful face, accompanied by a terrified expression on the person's face in the mirror, screamed.
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